To receive a report from the Public Health
Manager regarding pre-application advice and charging for licensing
applications.

Minutes:

The
Committee had before it a report * from the Public Health and
Professional Services Manager which set out proposals for the
introduction of a discretionary chargeable service for the
provision of pre-application advice for licensing
applications.

The
officer outlined the contents of the report, explaining that the
Localism Act 2011 allowed authorities to make a charge where it was
not under a duty to provide the service and the person had agreed
to the service being provided. There was also a duty to ensure that
taking one financial year with another, the income from charges did
not exceed the costs of providing of the service, in other words
the Council cannot make a profit from charging for the
service.

The
licensing team dealt with a wide range of licensable activities
under a range of different legislation. In particular, the
following applications were the most complex and
time-consuming:

·Licensing Act 2003: Sale of alcohol, entertainment
and the provision of late night refreshment (i.e. new premises,
variations, transfers and changes of Designated Premises
Supervisors)

Although there was a statutory duty on the Council to administer
applications, that duty did not extend to the provision of
pre-submission advice and assistance.

The
officer explained that the proposal to introduce discretionary
services held benefits for the Council. Officers believed that the
assistance offered under the proposed discretionary scheme would
benefit residents and persons present in the Mid Devon area. From
discussions with applicants, officers knew that some were put off,
for example, by the length of application forms and the amount of
sometimes technical information required in submitting a completed
application. Guidance notes and policies were publicly available to
applicants on the website, but the prescribed application process
was inherently complicated mainly because it was closely linked to
the primary legislation and applicants did not always have time to
consider the guidance that was available.

The
proposal was that potential applicants or persons indicating an
interest in applying for a licence would be given the opportunity
to take advantage of officer assistance at the appropriate
discretionary fee.

The
level of pre-application advice and assistance required was
determined by the type of application to be completed and
experience of the applicant. In order to try and be as inclusive as
possible, it was proposed to offer three levels of service for the
majority of applications, ranging from low to high (1 hour to 3
hours) of officer time. Costs were then calculated based on the
hourly rate (including on-costs) of the licensing officer post for
2017/18.

Proposed fees were set as follows:

Level of assistance required

Low
1 hour
£30.00

Medium 2
hours
£60.00

High
3 hours
£90.00

The
type of pre-application advice and assistance given would depend on
the requirements of the applicant but examples of what the service
may consist of included:

The
Lead Licensing Officer informed the Committee that the team had
been making proactive premises inspections, which involved visiting
unannounced. Since November six
premises had been found to have a risk rate of medium and two
premises had a risk rate of high. Where
a high risk was reported a second visit would take place to ensure
that areas of concern had been put right.

The
team had handled seven new applications since November; the average
was around twenty for the year.

Since November the team had issued two simple cautions for
non-compliance. One involved a premises that had been selling
alcohol whilst their licence was suspended for non-payment of an
annual fee and the other was for selling alcohol without a licence
or a TENs notice. They had subsequently
applied for a licence.

A
hearing had been held regarding Eggbeer Farm and the licence had
been granted.

The
officer informed the Committee that the team were continuing to
work in partnership with Trading Standards and the Police and had
undertaken evening work visiting the pubs in the three main town
centres.

13.

IMMIGRATION ACT UPDATE

To
receive a verbal update regarding the Immigration Act.

Minutes:

The
Lead Licensing Officer informed the Committee that he expected the
checking of immigration status for new applicants to commence in
early April. Officers would be
undertaking Home Office training and he would provide further
information as and when it became available.